Anchorage to Honduras

Arrive in Fort Lauderdale after sleeping most of the red eye. James picked me up and we went to a Mexican place on the beach and waited til his brother´s flight arrived...then went to his place in Miami Beach and went to a couple of clubs on the strip there. Slept in til 1 pm, James had made breakfast, then went to the airport for my 4 pm flight to Guate. TACA Airlines is my new favorite because they served warm food on a 2.5 hour flight and gave us candy. Arrived in Guate fine and got a taxi to the bus terminal where I needed to book my ticket to Honduras for the next morning. I had two options, 5am and 9am, arriving in La Ceiba at 5pm or 9pm. La Ceiba is the town where the ferry to the island leaves from. Of course even the earliest bus misses the ferry so you have to spend the night in La Ceiba and take the ferry in the morning. I picked the early departure so I could arrive in La Ceiba in daylight when its safer and have more time to look around. From the bus terminal I used their phone to call a guy named Enrique Iglesias (not his real name). I read Enriques profile on Couchsurfing.com and he had said I could crash at his place until my bus left. Seemed like a normal guy, fluent English speaker, but thats all I could remember. So I called him, and he offered to send his taxi driver to pick me up and drive me up to his place in the mountains. At this point even I think the scenario is sketchy, but I like to think I´m a pretty good reader of people. So the taxi arrived, really nice guy...my spanish at this point was also sketchy at best but everyone wants to talk. We drove out into the suburbs and up the side of a mountain before finally arriving at a gated community. Showed up and met Enrique, who insisted on paying my cab fare. Went inside and had a beer, both agreeing we were a little crazy for trusting strangers and both agreeing not kill each other. Enrique is from Mexico but lived 11 years in the states, lived in Europe etc. so his English is perfect. He recently moved to Guate. because he works for a company owned by the 2nd richest man in the world (from Mexico, can´t remember name). Enrique got promoted from supervising Mexico to supervising all of Central America. He has a degree in electrical engineering and does something involving hydrogen cells and solar energy. He is 26. His girl friend Karol showed up to take us to the restaurant district and we got pizza and a few drinks, which weren´t as cheap as you´d expect because you know if you see an Applebees, you aren´t in the typical Guatemalan neighborhood. So Enrique insisted on paying and when I resisted, he said ¨Save your money, let the 2nd richest man in the world pay for it.¨ I gave in because thats a pretty good excuse. Enrique and Karol were both as awesome as it gets. I think I fell in love a little bit when Enrique said ¨What do you think I need to add to my house? I think I really need a chimney so I can have hot chocolate on cold nights¨) Got to bed at 1, Enrique had arranged for the driver to come pick me up at 330 am, got to the bus terminal, and our ¨motorcoach¨ left on time only to break down 3 hours into the 12 hour journey. I think we busted a belt, which I don´t know if I could change, since the bus was a Mercedes and I haven´t had a mechanical day in 2 years so I didn´t offer (plus I don´t have any Spanish vocab for engines). There were lots of men working on it while the rest of us waited by the side of the road for 2 hours. Lots of armed guards everywhere cuz of crime and at first I didn´t notice but when we were pulled over, apparently 2 of them had been traveling with us because they were standing guard in front and behind the bus with their big shotguns or whatever. None of the passengers complained and finally 2 minibuses came to pick us up and take us to the next station where we still had to change buses 2 more times and now would arrive at 9pm in La Ceiba. During the day the bus company handled it really well, feeding us pop and snacks all day and apologizing. The first snack I was offered was a Burger King sandwich (happy me). The bus attendant serving the snacks then sat down in the seat next to me and wanted to talk, which was easier at first, then he got to asking about how much snow different states get and what products come from what states. Then he wanted to know how come I didn´t have a boyfriend even though I have blue eyes? Eventually I had to tell him I was tired, since my 2 hours of sleep were not adequate for forming sentences on these topics in Spanish.
One of the bus company managers had said something about a discount on a return ticket and sure enough they let us book a ticket to whereever we needed to return to and didn´t charge us. I booked a ticket from La Ceiba to Antigua, Guate. for the 19th...a 15 hour ride and $70 value..free! Did someone say free? During the marathon bus ride day I met the two Danish girls, one who had dislocated her knee dancing in Antigua and was on crutches. (Dear God, Please remember that I am uninsured!) They were headed to La Ceiba as well and then on to the island of Utila to dive. We agreed to find a place together that night. Then I met Chantelle who was traveling alone but had already met the two Frenchies. They were going to Utila as well. I thought, why am I going to Roatan instead of Utila to dive? They had learned Utila was the backpacker´s choice, less expensive. I hadn´t learned this because I planned last minute and didn´t have a guidebook. So I decided to go with my new 5 friends to Utila. Most are staying here at least a week. We 6 found a hostel in La Ceiba, shared cabs to the ferry, took the hour ferry to Utila where we met up with Chantelle´s friend Erica who has been living here. ON the ferry we also met randomly a guy from Chantelle´s town of 3000 in BC...Owen traveling to Utila by himself is an Andy Nye impersonator (think Australia, ¨sick!¨ and says things like ¨fat guy in a little hammock!¨). 7 friends! When we got here, there are so many dive shops to choose from, most offer free lodging when you sign up. THe Frenchies picked one, the Danish girls other, Chantelle is staying with Erica which left Owen and myself. We picked CrossCreek and here we are. We got a room for 2, which contains a bunk bed, a shower and a fan. Livable, no air con, no hot water, like most places around here. Every other person I´ve mentioned has does their first SCUBA class already, I am the only beginner. I start this afternoon and finish the day I leave on the ferry. Last night the group of us plus other friends of Ericas, Thomas from Norway, Jacob from Denmark, Ennis and Beth from Australia, etc, went to a bbq place for fish, rice, salad, and potato for $5. I had king fish, got a huge piece and it was good. So that was the first food I bought in the 5 days I´ve been gone. Thanks to good friends, the 2nd richest man in the world, the bus company and my plan to subsist (insert Winter Wonder quote here) on the granola, oatmeal and Airborne pills I brought with. I popped a bad of popcorn I had brought the other night, the Frenchies had never seen microwave popcorn (¨Does it just explode all over the inside of the microwave?¨ Out of the group of 6 or 7 of us who met up, I speak the best Spanish so they need me and they had malaria pills so I needed them. Except all the bugs I´ve heard about I just haven´t seen...not one mosquito so far. The island town is very small, we all run into each other throughout the day. Well, thats pretty much it all right now, gotta get off the computer. SCUBA starts at 2, I hope I´m not clautrophobic.